Isaiah 64; Isaiah 65; Isaiah 66

1 Why don't you tear the sky open and come down? The mountains would see you and shake with fear.

2 They would tremble like water boiling over a hot fire. Come and reveal your power to your enemies, and make the nations tremble at your presence!

3 There was a time when you came and did terrifying things that we did not expect; the mountains saw you and shook with fear.

4 No one has ever seen or heard of a God like you, who does such deeds for those who put their hope in him.

5 You welcome those who find joy in doing what is right, those who remember how you want them to live. You were angry with us, but we went on sinning; in spite of your great anger we have continued to do wrong since ancient times.

6 All of us have been sinful; even our best actions are filthy through and through. Because of our sins we are like leaves that wither and are blown away by the wind.

7 No one turns to you in prayer; no one goes to you for help. You have hidden yourself from us and have abandoned us because of our sins.

8 But you are our father, Lord. We are like clay, and you are like the potter. You created us,

9 so do not be too angry with us or hold our sins against us forever. We are your people; be merciful to us.

10 Your sacred cities are like a desert; Jerusalem is a deserted ruin,

11 and our Temple, the sacred and beautiful place where our ancestors praised you, has been destroyed by fire. All the places we loved are in ruins.

12 Lord, are you unmoved by all this? Are you going to do nothing and make us suffer more than we can endure?

1 The Lord said, "I was ready to answer my people's prayers, but they did not pray. I was ready for them to find me, but they did not even try. The nation did not pray to me, even though I was always ready to answer, "Here I am; I will help you.'

2 I have always been ready to welcome my people, who stubbornly do what is wrong and go their own way.

3 They shamelessly keep on making me angry. They offer pagan sacrifices at sacred gardens and burn incense on pagan altars.

4 At night they go to caves and tombs to consult the spirits of the dead. They eat pork and drink broth made from meat offered in pagan sacrifices.

5 And then they say to others, "Keep away from us; we are too holy for you to touch!' I cannot stand people like that - my anger against them is like a fire that never goes out.

6 "I have already decided on their punishment, and their sentence is written down. I will not overlook what they have done, but will repay them

7 for their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They have burned incense at pagan hill shrines and spoken evil of me. So I will punish them as their past deeds deserve."

8 The Lord says, "No one destroys good grapes; instead, they make wine with them. Neither will I destroy all my people - I will save those who serve me.

9 I will bless the Israelites who belong to the tribe of Judah, and their descendants will possess my land of mountains. My chosen people, who serve me, will live there.

10 They will worship me and will lead their sheep and cattle to pasture in the Plain of Sharon in the west and in Trouble Valley in the east.

11 "But it will be different for you that forsake me, who ignore Zion, my sacred hill, and worship Gad and Meni, the gods of luck and fate.

12 It will be your fate to die a violent death, because you did not answer when I called you or listen when I spoke. You chose to disobey me and do evil.

13 And so I tell you that those who worship and obey me will have plenty to eat and drink, but you will be hungry and thirsty. They will be happy, but you will be disgraced.

14 They will sing for joy, but you will cry with a broken heart.

15 My chosen people will use your name as a curse. I, the Sovereign Lord, will put you to death. But I will give a new name to those who obey me.

16 Anyone in the land who asks for a blessing will ask to be blessed by the faithful God. Whoever takes an oath will swear by the name of the faithful God. The troubles of the past will be gone and forgotten."

17 The Lord says, "I am making a new earth and new heavens. The events of the past will be completely forgotten.

18 Be glad and rejoice forever in what I create. The new Jerusalem I make will be full of joy, and her people will be happy.

19 I myself will be filled with joy because of Jerusalem and her people. There will be no weeping there, no calling for help.

20 Babies will no longer die in infancy, and all people will live out their life span. Those who live to be a hundred will be considered young. To die before that would be a sign that I had punished them.

21 People will build houses and get to live in them - they will not be used by someone else. They will plant vineyards and enjoy the wine - it will not be drunk by others. Like trees, my people will live long lives. They will fully enjoy the things that they have worked for.

23 The work they do will be successful, and their children will not meet with disaster. I will bless them and their descendants for all time to come.

24 Even before they finish praying to me, I will answer their prayers.

25 Wolves and lambs will eat together; lions will eat straw, as cattle do, and snakes will no longer be dangerous. On Zion, my sacred hill, there will be nothing harmful or evil."

1 The Lord says, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house, then, could you build for me, what kind of place for me to live in?

2 I myself created the whole universe! I am pleased with those who are humble and repentant, who fear me and obey me.

3 "The people do as they please. It's all the same to them whether they kill a bull as a sacrifice or sacrifice a human being; whether they sacrifice a lamb or break a dog's neck; whether they present a grain offering or offer pigs' blood; whether they offer incense or pray to an idol. They take pleasure in disgusting ways of worship.

4 So I will bring disaster upon them - the very things they are afraid of - because no one answered when I called or listened when I spoke. They chose to disobey me and do evil."

5 Listen to what the Lord says, you that fear him and obey him: "Because you are faithful to me, some of your own people hate you and will have nothing to do with you. They mock you and say, "Let the Lord show his greatness and save you, so that we may see you rejoice.' But they themselves will be disgraced!

6 Listen! That loud noise in the city, that sound in the Temple, is the sound of the Lord punishing his enemies!

7 "My holy city is like a woman who suddenly gives birth to a child without ever going into labor.

8 Has anyone ever seen or heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a day? Zion will not have to suffer long, before the nation is born.

9 Do not think that I will bring my people to the point of birth and not let them be born." The Lord has spoken.

10 Rejoice with Jerusalem; be glad for her, all you that love this city! Rejoice with her now, all you that have mourned for her!

11 You will enjoy her prosperity, like a child at its mother's breast.

12 The Lord says, "I will bring you lasting prosperity; the wealth of the nations will flow to you like a river that never goes dry. You will be like a child that is nursed by its mother, carried in her arms, and treated with love.

13 I will comfort you in Jerusalem, as a mother comforts her child.

14 When you see this happen, you will be glad; it will make you strong and healthy. Then you will know that I, the Lord, help those who obey me, and I show my anger against my enemies."

15 The Lord will come with fire. He will ride on the wings of a storm to punish those he is angry with.

16 By fire and sword he will punish all the people of the world whom he finds guilty - and many will be put to death.

17 The Lord says, "The end is near for those who purify themselves for pagan worship, who go in procession to sacred gardens, and who eat pork and mice and other disgusting foods.

18 I know their thoughts and their deeds. I am coming to gather the people of all the nations. When they come together, they will see what my power can do

19 and will know that I am the one who punishes them. "But I will spare some of them and send them to the nations and the distant lands that have not heard of my fame or seen my greatness and power: to Spain, Libya, and Lydia, with its skilled archers, and to Tubal and Greece. Among these nations they will proclaim my greatness.

20 They will bring back all your people from the nations as a gift to me. They will bring them to my sacred hill in Jerusalem on horses, mules, and camels, and in chariots and wagons, just as Israelites bring grain offerings to the Temple in ritually clean containers.

21 I will make some of them priests and Levites.

22 "Just as the new earth and the new heavens will endure by my power, so your descendants and your name will endure.

23 On every New Moon Festival and every Sabbath people of every nation will come to worship me here in Jerusalem," says the Lord.

24 "As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me. The worms that eat them will never die, and the fire that burns them will never be put out. The sight of them will be disgusting to all people."